Timetravel to:1) India 2500 years ago to meet Buddha Shakiamuni.2) to Sweden 1900 to meet the family of my father3) to Italy 1810 to listen to a concert of Paganini4) 1150 to Germany to meet the christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen5) and 1969 to Woodstock to listen to Janis Joplin.

Nilasarasvati wrote:What is the oldest mala you have and still use? Where did it come from? What is it made of?

Ay, this is a story!I got the Mala in 1992 when i was no Buddhist. I did some Hindu-meditation that time, but we didn't use malas.My husband visited some tibetean buddhist pujas and lessons in a group of the "diamond way" of Ole Nydahl. Somehow they persuaded him to take refuge. So he took it, but he wasn't really convinced inside.One week later he made up his mind and in a momentum of defiance he was about to throw the things he has been given at the refuge ceremnony into the garbage. The mala and the Puja-text were already inside of the garbage can as i jumped to rescue them. Somehow it was obvious for me that these things were blessed and that it was an impossible deed to throw them away.So they were in my drawer for years. The Mala is from fair Sandalwood. In 2008 i started buddhist meditation and began to use it for counting Mantras. As time passed it lost it's wonderful smell and some beads broke or split a little bit. It became dirty from using and i washed it sometimes. The thread got thin at one point and it is near to tear.Now I don't want to break it and i put it back into a drawer as a memento. I've got a new mala now.

What is your favorite way to travel? By plane? By feet? (Maybe give top 5 )

Nilasarasvati wrote:What is the oldest mala you have and still use? Where did it come from? What is it made of?

Ay, this is a story!I got the Mala in 1992 when i was no Buddhist. I did some Hindu-meditation that time, but we didn't use malas.My husband visited some tibetean buddhist pujas and lessons in a group of the "diamond way" of Ole Nydahl. Somehow they persuaded him to take refuge. So he took it, but he wasn't really convinced inside.One week later he made up his mind and in a momentum of defiance he was about to throw the things he has been given at the refuge ceremnony into the garbage. The mala and the Puja-text were already inside of the garbage can as i jumped to rescue them. Somehow it was obvious for me that these things were blessed and that it was an impossible deed to throw them away.So they were in my drawer for years. The Mala is from fair Sandalwood. In 2008 i started buddhist meditation and began to use it for counting Mantras. As time passed it lost it's wonderful smell and some beads broke or split a little bit. It became dirty from using and i washed it sometimes. The thread got thin at one point and it is near to tear.Now I don't want to break it and i put it back into a drawer as a memento. I've got a new mala now.

What is your favorite way to travel? By plane? By feet? (Maybe give top 5 )

Sorry, my dictionary and i were overchallenged... How would you name it? Yes, i thought of splitting firewood, carrying pianos, fixing cars...

Which season is your least favorite, and what is your favorite part of that season?

Part of that season? Like Christmas in winter?The worst season is winter. And the best in this season is when the first big snowflakes fall gently and whiten a dark world and turn it into something bright. The snow also smooths the sounds, loudness vanishes. So with one falling of snow everything becomes bright and calm.